History

TIMELINE

President Barack Obama defeats Mitt Romney to be re-elected to a second term.

Hurricane Sandy kills more than 200 people and causes billions in damage.

A gunman kills 26 people, including 20 children, in an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

2012

While the other contenders faltered over the closing holes, Webb Simpson played mistake-free golf over his last 13 holes to capture the 2012 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Four shots back at the start of the final round, Simpson shot 68 for a 72-hole total of 1-over 281, which edged Michael Thompson and 2010 champion Graeme McDowell by a stroke. Five players, including 2003 champion Jim Furyk, tied for fourth, two shots behind Simpson.

After shooting 72 and 73 over the first two rounds, Simpson came back with a pair of 68s over the weekend – the lowest total over the final two rounds. The highlight of his final round came during the middle of the course; he made four birdies from the sixth through 10th holes. Simpson then made pars on the final seven holes, capped by a deft par save from a difficult lie to the right of the 18th green.

When third-round co-leaders and U.S. Open champions McDowell and Furyk faltered on the back nine – McDowell made two bogeys, and Furyk made three – Simpson became the fifth national champion at Olympic. Like his four predecessors, Simpson came back in the final round; each of the five Olympic U.S. Open champions shot 68 or better to win.

At the awards ceremony on the 18th green, Simpson received the champion’s medal, newly named for four-time U.S. Open champion Jack Nicklaus. The Nicklaus Medal, which debuted the day before the start of the championship, honors the accomplishments of a man who played in 44 U.S. Opens and had 18 top-10 finishes, both records.

OPEN RECORDS

Open Starts - 2

Best Finish - Winner 2012

Rds - 8

Cuts Made - 2

Top 3 - 1

Top 5 - 1

Top 10 - 1

Top 25 - 2

Avg. - 70.38

Scores in 60s - 3

Rds Under Par - 4

Earnings - $1,575,517

Historical Notes

On Oct. 4, 1895, the first U.S. Open Championship was conducted by the United States Golf Association on the nine-hole course of Newport (R.I.) Golf and Country Club.

The first U.S. Open was considered something of a sideshow to the first U.S. Amateur, which was played on the same course and during the same week. Both championships had been scheduled for September but were postponed because of a conflict with a more established Newport sports spectacle, the America's Cup yacht races.

Ten professionals and one amateur started in the 36-hole competition, which was four trips around the Newport course in one day. The surprise winner was Horace Rawlins, 21, an English professional who was the assistant at the host course. Rawlins scored 91-82-173 with the gutta-percha ball.

Prize money totalled $335, of which Rawlins won the $150 first prize. He also received a gold medal and custody of the Open Championship Cup for his club for one year.

In its first decade, the U.S. Open was conducted for amateurs and the largely British wave of immigrant golf professionals coming to the United States.

As American players began to dominate the game, the U.S. Open evolved into an important world golf championship. Young John J. McDermott became the first native-born American winner in 1911 and repeated as champion in 1912.

In 1913, the U.S. Open really took off when Francis Ouimet, a 20-year-old American amateur, stunned the golf world by defeating famous English professionals, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, in a playoff.

Another surge in the championship's popularity coincided with the amazing career of Georgia amateur Bob Jones, who won the U.S. Open four times (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930). Spectator tickets were sold for the first time in 1922 and a boom in entries caused the USGA to introduce sectional qualifying in 1924.

In 1933, John Goodman became the fifth and last amateur to win the U.S. Open. The others were Ouimet, Jerome D. Travers (1915), Charles Evans Jr., (1916), and Jones.

In each era, the world's greatest players have been identified by surviving the rigorous examination provided by the U.S. Open. Ben Hogan's steely determination boosted him to four victories (1948, 1950, 1951, 1953). Arnold Palmer's record comeback win in 1960, when he fired a final round of 65 to come from seven strokes off the lead, cemented his dashing image. Jack Nicklaus' historic assault on the professional record book began when he won the first of his four U.S. Open Championships in 1962, his rookie season as a professional.

Nicklaus, who also won in 1967, 1972, and 1980, is one of only four golfers to win four U.S. Opens. The others are Willie Anderson (1901, 1903, 1904, 1905), Jones and Hogan.

In 1954, the U.S. Open course was roped from tee to green for the first time. That year also marked the first national television coverage. Coverage was expanded by ABC Sports in 1977 so that all 18 holes of the final two rounds were broadcast live. In 1982, on the ESPN cable network, the first two rounds were broadcast live for the first time. NBC began televising the U.S. Open in 1995.

The format of the U.S. Open has changed several times. The USGA extended the championship to 72 holes in 1898, with 36 holes played on each of two days. In 1926, the format was changed to 18 holes played each of two days, then 36 holes on the third day. In 1965, the present format of four 18-hole daily rounds was implemented for the first time.

In 2002, a two-tee (Nos. 1 and 10) start was used for the first and second rounds. In addition, Bethpage State Park's Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., was the first facility owned by the public to host a U.S. Open. International qualifying sites were added in 2005 and the champion at Pinehurst Resort in N.C. was Michael Campbell, who qualified in England.

Chevron

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The USGA and Chevron have committed to using the game of golf to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines. This commitment has led to the creation of extensive golf-focused STEM teaching tools, and has resulted in charitable contributions to support golf-related programs through Eagles for Education

At U.S. Open Championships the Chevron STEM ZONE™ is an interactive experience highlighting the science and math behind the game of golf through a variety of hands-on exhibits and experiments.

The partnership has also produced educational materials such as the Science of Golf Video Series video series and a nationally-distributed newspaper insert which are provided to teachers as tools to enhance existing curriculum in schools. These lessons teach the science behind the USGA's equipment testing, handicapping, and agronomy efforts.

Rolex

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Rolex has been a longtime supporter of the USGA and salutes the sportsmanship and great traditions unique to the game. This support includes the Rules of Golf, where Rolex has partnered with the USGA to ensure golfers understand and appreciate the game.

As the official timekeeper of the USGA and its championships, they also provide clocks throughout host sites for spectator convenience.

IBM

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IBM has partnered with the USGA to bring the same technology, expertise, and innovation it provides to businesses all over the world to the USGA and golf's national championship.

IBM provides the information technology to develop and host the U.S. Open's official website, www.usopen.com, as well as the mobile apps and scoring systems for the three U.S. Open championships. These real-time technology solutions provide an enhanced experience for fans following the championship onsite and online.

For more information on IBM and the technology that powers the U.S. Open and businesses worldwide, visit http://www.usopen.com/IBM.

Lexus

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Lexus is committed to partnering with the USGA to deliver a best-in-class experience for the world's best golfers by providing a fleet of courtesy luxury vehicles for all USGA Championships.

At each U.S. Open, Women's Open and Senior Open, Lexus provides spectators with access to unique experiences ranging from the opportunity to have a picture taken with both the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open trophies to autograph signings with legendary Lexus Golf Ambassadors in the Lexus Performance Drive Pavilion.

American Express

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Together, American Express and the USGA have been providing world-class service to golf fans since 2006. By creating interactive U.S. Open experiences both onsite and online, American Express enhances the USGA's effort to make the game more accessible and enjoyable for fans.